Horror news, reviews, articles, interviews and features!

Army Of Darkness Comic: Issues 1-3 [Review]

Alright, you primitive screwheads, listen up! This…is my BOOK REVIEW! It’s a comic book, each about 30 pages long, with amazing art. S-Mart’s top of the line. You can find this in the book aisle. That’s right, this sweet baby was printed in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for anywhere at $8.00 for a digital print or up to $20.00 for collections. It’s faithful to the movie, and a great addition for any collector. That’s right, shop Smart. Shop S-Mart, YOU GOT THAT?!

Hail to the King, baby.

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let’s get into this book review.

Army Of Darkness Issues 1 through 3 is a comic book adaptation of the movie of the same name. It serves a fantastic purpose for condensing the story into less than a collective 90 pages. I say less than 90 because, at the end of every issue, around 5 pages are dedicated to an article from staff that worked on the comic. And the comics are about 30 pages long. You can really feel the love for the franchise here as they painstakingly take every key point in the movie and bring it to life through illustration.

The artwork feels as if it was taken directly from the movie. Bruce Campbell is portrayed with fantastic art, killer chin included.

If you are a comic collector, or even just a comic reader, you know some things have to be super condensed to fit everything in as far as actions and dialogue. After all, space in comics is small. Army of Darkness tries its best to introduce new dialogue through the form of Ash’s innermost thoughts, which works greatly upon fleshing out his character. Some locations have been altered only slightly in order to provide a better scenery and scope of images. Some fight scenes, too, have been added upon entirely, but I can’t complain. All the original quips and puns are still there, even expanded upon in ways that serve fans.

Ash has his innermost thoughts placed in Yellow thought boxes, which adds even more depth explaining how his character feels and relates to the story. It’s very organic and doesn’t feel contrived.

I am entirely confident you could give these 3 comics to someone who had never seen the movie and they would walk away with sufficient knowledge to engage in conversation with someone who has seen the movie. In my opinion, that is exactly what an adaptation should do. The good news is that it doesn’t end after 3 issues: there’s an entire Omnibus of comics for sale (around 20 dollars give or take) that includes this version and other expanded story arcs, multiple adventures not even talked about in movies (Ash vs. Dracula? Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash? Sign me the hell up!). So, if you are looking to be thrifty with your money to get the most out of it, or eager for more Boomstick-laden adventures, I would highly recommend the Omnibus collection if you can’t get enough of the legendary Deadite Slayer. You can find it online, but physical copies are expensive and considered collector’s items (thank god for Comixology).

Ash’s greatest nemesis is given form through a twisted birthing of his own body. It mirrors the movie perfectly in terms of dialogue and imagery.

If comics aren’t your thing, then don’t feel bad about skipping this one. While it is great and faithful, there is much lacking after viewing the actual movie. You would save more money renting it from an online streaming service, but for comic fans and fans of the series, this is the midway point that you need in your life.

Everyone has different tastes and this ultra-realistic style may not be for fans of comics in the DC/Marvel regards. It has a dark, grungy 90’s feel and isn’t as neat as a “Top of the Line” comic in the superhero genre. The best parts of the comic to my perspective are when they add on to the Army of Darkness story with original parts because then it slips into a more comic like feel instead of a frame by frame of the movie.

I cannot stress how much care was placed into making this comic mirror the movie.

Wrapping it up this comic does what it is meant to do: abridge and summarize. If you are as big a fan as I am, I implore you to obtain it. At the end of the day, it is the same on paper as it is on the screen and this is one book you would want in your collection as long as you can remember the magic words (Klatuu… Barada… Necktie?).